Life of Muhammad - Ahmadiyya Muslim Community

276 Pages·2013·3.08 MB·English

LIFE OF MUHAMMADsa

BY
HADRAT MIRZA BASHIRUDDIN MAHMUD AHMAD

2013
ISLAM INTERNATIONAL PUBLICATINS LIMITED
Life of Muhammadsa

BY: HADRAT MIRZA BASHIRUDDIN MAHMUD AHMAD
KHALIFATUL MASIH II

First published in UK in 1990
Second edition published in UK in 2005
Third edition published in UK in 2009
Fourth edition published in UK in Oct. 2012
Fifth edition published in UK in New Format in Nov. 2012
Sixth edition published in UK in Mar. 2013
Re-printed in UK in Jan. 2014

© ISLAM INTERNATIONAL PUBLICATIONS LTD

PUBLISHED BY:
Additional Wakalat-e-Tasnif (United Kingdom)
Islamabad
Sheephatch Lane,
Tilford, Surrey, GU10 2AQ, UK

Printed and bound in Great Britain

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without prior
permission from the Publisher, except for the quotation of brief passages in
criticism.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Ahmad, Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud 1889–1965
The Life of Muhammad
1. Islam Muhammad (Prophetsa)
I. Title
297.63

ISBN: 1- 85372- 045- 3

Contacts for Further Information:
www.alislam.org,
www.muslims4peace.org.uk,
www.muslimsforpeace.org
About the Author

The Promised sonra of the Promised Messiah and Mahdias;
the manifest Sign of Allah, the Almighty; the Word of God whose
advent was prophesied by the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa and the
Promised Messiahas as well as the past Prophets; a Star in the
spiritual firmament for the like of which the world has to wait for
hundreds of years to appear; the man of God, crowned with a
spiritual halo from which radiated such scintillating rays of light as
would instil spiritual life into his followers and captivate and enthral
those who were not fortunate to follow him; an orator of such
phenomenal quality that his speeches would make his audience stay
put for hours on end, come rain or shine, deep into the late hours of
the evenings while words flowed from his tongue like honey
dripping into their ears to reach the depths of their soul to fill them
with knowledge and invigorate their faith; the ocean of Divine and
secular knowledge; the Voice Articulate of the age; without doubt
the greatest genius of the 20th century; a man of phenomenal
intelligence and memory; an epitome of the qualities of leadership;
the one whose versatility cannot be comprehended—Hadrat Mirza
Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmadra (1889-1965), Muslih Mau‘ud (the
Promised Reformer) was the eldest son and the second successor
(Khalifah) of the Promised Messiahas. He took charge of the
Ahmadiyya Jama‘at at the young age of 24 when the Jama‘at was
still in its infancy and nourished it to its maturity for more than 50
years with his spiritual guidance, prayers, tears, toil and blood. Not
only did he fortify the foundations of the community laid down by
the Promised Messiahas, but expanded the structure of the Jama‘at by
initiating various schemes, organizations, and programs taking his
inspiration from the Promised Messiahas and under the Divine
guidance. His foremost concern, to which he devoted all his life, was
to accomplish the mission of the Promised Messiah—the daunting
task of spreading the message of true Islam in its pristine purity to
the ends of the world. To achieve this, he initiated Tahrik-e-Jadid
through which spread, and continues to spread, the missionary work
all over the globe. His acute intelligence, keen intellect, deep and
extensive scholarship and above all his God-given knowledge
iii
iv
Life of Muhammadsa
enabled him to produce a vast corpus of writings, speeches etc. His
oeuvre is so vast that it will take many years to see the light of
publication.
When the promised Messiahas fervently prayed to God to
grant him a Sign in support of Islam, Allah gave him the good tiding
about this son of his and said:
"…He will be extremely intelligent…and will be filled
with secular and spiritual knowledge...Son, delight of
the heart, high ranking, noble. A manifestation of the
First and the Last, a manifestation of the True and the
High; as if Allah has descended from heaven…Behold a
light comes…We shall pour Our Spirit into him"
[Revelation of 20th February 1886]*

* Translation from Urdu by Sir Muhammad Zafrullah Khan in his English
translation of Tadhkirah—the book containing dreams, visions and verbal
revelations vouchsafed to the Promised Messiahas. (Revised edition, 2009.)
[Publisher]
CONTENTS
Foreword ................................................................................... ix
Arabia At The Time Of The Prophet'ssa Birth ........................... 1
Holy Prophet'ssa Marriage With Khadijara ................................. 7
The Prophetsa Receives His First Revelation ............................. 9
First Converts .......................................................................... 11
The Faithful Persecuted ........................................................... 12
The Message Of Islam ............................................................. 18
Emigration To Abyssinia ......................................................... 21
‘Umarra Accepts Islam ............................................................. 23
Persecution Intensifies ............................................................. 25
The Prophetsa Goes To Ta’if ................................................... 27
Islam Spreads To Medina ........................................................ 30
First Pledge Of ‘Aqaba ............................................................ 35
The Hijra .................................................................................. 37
Suraqara Pursues The Prophet .................................................. 39
The Prophetsa Arrives At Medina ............................................ 41
Abu Ayyub Ansarira As Prophet'ssa Host .............................. 42
Life Unsafe At Medina ............................................................ 44
Pact Between Various Tribes Of Medina ................................ 47
Meccans Preparing To Attack Medina .................................... 50
Battle Of Badr .......................................................................... 52
A Great Prophecy Fulfilled ...................................................... 59
Battle Of Uhud ........................................................................ 62
Victory Converted Into Defeat ................................................ 64
Rumour Of Prophet'ssa Death Reaches Medina ....................... 70
Encounter With Banu Mustaliq.............................................. 80
Battle Of The Ditch ................................................................. 83
Fight Against Heavy Odds ...................................................... 85
Treachery Of Banu Quraiza .................................................... 88
The Confederates Disperse ...................................................... 95
Banu Quraiza Punished ........................................................... 97
Sa‘D'sra Award In Harmony With The Bible......................... 100
Did The Prophetsa Seek To Continue Warfare? ..................... 103
Teachings Of Judaism And Christianity About War ............. 106
The Qur’an On War And Peace ............................................. 108
v
vi
Life of Muhammadsa
The Prophet'ssa Precepts About War ...................................... 116
Sporadic Attacks By Disbelievers ......................................... 119
The Prophetsa Leaves For Mecca With One Thousand Five
Hundred Companions ............................................................ 121
Treaty Of Hudaibiya .............................................................. 125
Prophet'ssa Letters To Various Kings ..................................... 128
Letter To The King Of Iran ................................................... 133
The Letter To The Negus ....................................................... 135
Letter To The Ruler Of Egypt ............................................... 137
Letter To Chief Of Bahrain ................................................... 139
Fall Of Khaibar ...................................................................... 140
The Prophet'ssa Vision Fulfilled ............................................. 144
Battle Of Mauta ..................................................................... 147
The Prophetsa Marches On Mecca With Ten Thousand
Followers ............................................................................... 152
Fall Of Mecca ........................................................................ 154
The Prophetsa Enters Mecca................................................... 157
Ka‘Ba Cleared Of Idols ......................................................... 163
The Prophetsa Forgives His Enemies ..................................... 165
‘Ikrimara Becomes Muslim .................................................... 167
Battle Of Hunain ................................................................... 169
"The Prophetsa Of God Calls You" ........................................ 171
A Sworn Enemy Becomes A Devoted Follower ................... 174
The Prophetsa Distributes Booty ............................................ 175
Machinations Of Abu ‘Amir ................................................. 177
The Expedition Of Tabuk ..................................................... 178
The Last Pilgrimage ............................................................... 182
The Prophetsa Gives Hints Of His Death ............................... 186
Last Days Of The Prophetsa ................................................... 189
The Prophetsa Passes Away ................................................... 191
The Prophet'ssa Personality And Character ............................ 195
The Prophet'ssa Purity Of Mind And Cleanliness Of Body ... 196
The Prophet'ssa Simple Life ................................................... 198
Relationship With God .......................................................... 204
Disapproval Of Penance ........................................................ 212
Attitude Towards His Wives ................................................. 214
vii
Life of Muhammadsa
High Moral Qualities ............................................................. 215
His Self-Control ..................................................................... 217
Justice And Fair Dealing ....................................................... 219
Regard For The Poor ............................................................. 221
Safeguarding The Interests Of The Poor ............................... 225
Treatment Of Slaves .............................................................. 226
Treatment Of Women ............................................................ 227
Attitude Towards The Dead................................................... 231
Treatment Of Neighbours ...................................................... 232
Treatment Of Relatives .......................................................... 233
Keeping Good Company ....................................................... 236
Safeguarding People's Faith ................................................... 236
Overlooking Faults Of Others ............................................... 237
Patience In Adversity ............................................................. 240
Mutual Cooperation ............................................................... 241
Truthfulness ........................................................................... 242
Inquisitiveness ....................................................................... 244
Frank And Straightforward Dealing ...................................... 244
Pessimism .............................................................................. 245
Cruelty To Animals ............................................................... 245
Tolerance In Religious Matters ............................................. 246
Bravery .................................................................................. 247
Consideration Towards The Uncultured ................................ 247
The Fulfilling Of Covenants .................................................. 248
Deference Towards Servants Of Humanity ........................... 248
Life Of The Prophetsa An Open Book ................................... 249
Index Of Subject Matter ........................................................ 251
Index Of Names ..................................................................... 259
Index Of Places ...................................................................... 263

Foreword
Life of Muhammadsa is part of Introduction to the
study of the Holy Qur’an by Hadrat Mirza Bashirduddin
Mahmud Ahmadra. The Introduction was translated into
English by Qadi Muhammad Aslam and was first
published in 1949 from London. Since then it has
appeared in several editions. Life of Muhammadsa has
also appeared in several editions and is out of stock
now. We are publishing it again with an index which the
original English edition did not have. We have also reset
it to make it more attractive. Needless to say that it is
much in demand and we very much hope that the
present edition will meet this demand. Some minor
corrections have also been made.
The name of Muhammadsa, the Holy Prophet of Islam,
has been followed by the symbol sa, which is an
abbreviation for the salutation 'may peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him.' The names of other prophets and
messengers are followed by the symbol as, an
abbreviation for 'on whom be peace.' The actual
salutations have not generally been set out in full, but
they should nevertheless, be understood as being
repeated in full in each case. The symbol ra is used with
the name of the Disciples of the Holy Prophetsa and
those of the Promised Messiahas. It stands for Radi
Allahu ‘anhu/‘anha/‘anhum (May Allah be pleased with
him/with her/with them).
In transliterating Arabic words we have followed the
following system adopted by the Royal Asiatic Society.
at the beginning of a word, pronounced as a, i, u preceded by
ا
a very slight aspiration, like h in the English word 'honour'.
th, pronounced like th in the English word 'thing'.
ث
h, a guttural aspirate, stronger than h.
ح
kh, pronounced like the Scotch ch in 'loch'.
خ
dh, pronounced like the English th in 'that'.
ذ
s, strongly articulated s.
ص
ix